Have you adopted a new mindset about something? You may have been steeped in an old way of thinking but something came along and opened your eyes. Voila – Metamorphosis!

Here’s something you may have never considered: The old mindset is still there. It’s just not prominent. Just like the physicists tell us that we cannot destroy matter, the old mindset is indestructible.

If you once believed it, it’s still there. You may not act on it, but it’s like that goofy picture you have of yourself from way back when. It still exists, somewhere.

The point of this revelation is to not beat yourself up when you discover it’s still there. Let’s pretend that you had terrible parents. You vowed that you would never be like them when you had children. You kept your promise and your kids are never treated to the style of parenting that you had until . . .

Remember that fateful day, when, without thinking, your mother or father showed up in you when you said or did something like them that you swore you’d never do? Give yourself a pass.

Don’t extrapolate that you have become them, you haven’t. You just were presented with the reality of “It’s still there.”

It’s a time to notice, not negate. Notice that some old patterning paid you a visit and don’t use it as an excuse to negate all the wonderful growth you’ve accomplished.

Reminds me of yesterday . . . I was on the telephone with customer service and the person on the other end was doing a poor job representing their company. They were a chapter behind me and I don’t even have any expertise in their area. It was quite evident that this person didn’t know how to help me but that didn’t prevent them from continuing to chatter away about nothing. I interrupted them several times and stated that they were not answering the question that I asked. I’m sure you own the experience of being in the middle of a customer service call and being disconnected. You were hung up on. So was I. I was livid and some vile words left my mouth – words I thought I outgrew. They were “still there.”

I could have easily given myself a long reprimand for using such words and maybe even scheduled a visit to a confessional. The only thing that’s really necessary at that point is to notice that “it’s still there.” It’s not who you are; it’s who you were and it just stopped by and had you try on its costume.

Final thought: Issue an apology if one is necessary but keep the sack cloth in the closet. Feeling bad about something that’s “still there” delays you from getting back to who’s here now.

All the best,

John